All About the Book…

After I sold a web startup in 2008, I decided to write down a few notes about what I learned along the way. I had several failures and a couple of successes, and I didn’t want to forget the painful and pleasant lessons. It started out as a simple list for my own benefit, but the list quickly grew into pages and pages.

That’s when I realized the lessons I had learned could benefit other people, so I decided to write a book to help you avoid some of the mistakes that I made. If you have an idea for an online business but you’ve never launched a website before and you’re not sure how to get started, I wrote this book specifically for you.

It’s full of easy-to-understand examples written for non-technical people in non-technical terms based on my real-life experiences. This “Roadmap” will teach you about each step in the process of starting your own online business. Here’s a list of just some of the things you’ll learn about in this book:

• Not all online business models work. I’ll show you how to pick one that does.
• Choosing your website address, or domain name, is one of the most important decisions you have to make. There are some guidelines you need to understand before you start the search and I’ll explain them so you can find an awesome domain for your website.
• Not sure how to start building your website? With today’s user friendly technology, you may be able to do it yourself!
• If you need to hire a web designer, the road can be treacherous and expensive. I’ll teach you how to choose and manage a developer so you don’t go broke before your site gets launched.
• You might want to outsource your web and graphic design overseas to save money. It’s something you should consider and I’ll explain why and how to do it.
• Thinking of forming a partnership with one or more of your friends/family/co-workers/etc.? Partnerships can be the best thing for your business or the worst thing for your business, and a well written partnership agreement might be the difference between success and failure.
• Curious about startup funding for your idea? There are several ways to get money for your startup (even in a down economy), and I’ll go into detail about each of them so you can make an educated decision.
• You need traffic on your site to generate revenue, but what you may not know is how to do it. In order to drive traffic to your website you’ll need a balanced and well-rounded marketing plan that fits your budget. Once again, you have a lot of options and I’ll show you several of them, and explain their pros and cons.
• You’ve seen the ads on Google and maybe even clicked a few. This is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your website and I’ll show you how to use it so you get the most out of your advertising dollars.
• Social media marketing is all the rage, but it can actually do you more harm than good if you don’t do it right. You’ll learn my tips and tricks that will help you avoid common pitfalls, as well as teach you how to respond to negative comments.
• You’ve launched your company and the revenue is flowing! It’s time to hire your first employee! Woo Hoo! Now what? There are lots of things to do, from legal forms to office phones, and I’ll tell you about many of them.
• Getting sued is not fun. Trust me, I’ve been there. But once you’re successful enough, someone will want to sue you, whether it’s warranted or not, because they want your money or they want to punish you for a perceived injustice. It’s an unfortunate reality, but it’s usually not the end of the world. I can’t give you legal advice, but I can help you see the light at the end of the tunnel.

You don’t need to be a 22 year old programmer to start a successful online business. You just need a decent idea, a lot of perseverance, and the ability to learn and adapt. And by learning from my mistakes, hopefully you can skip some of the detours that I took.

Here’s what my readers are saying…

As a first time, web-based, small business owner I have found JP’s road map invaluable. Clearly written and concise it provides checklists of tasks as a reminder of what else I can do better as I take my company to EXCELLENCE. His enthusiasm, commitment and persistence are infectious. I’ve completed my first read-through and am now beginning the in-depth review and execution of a number of items. Thank you JP for this terrific guide! -D. Kalnins, BuildYourTour.com

The Web Startup Roadmap, by JP Stonestreet, is a diamond mine of information about starting a web based business. This book is easy to read, and provides practical and valuable information. One of the best business books I’ve read in a long time. -T. O’Connor, FullSailWeb.com

The “Web Startup Roadmap” more than delivers on its promise to provide the comprehensive information necessary for the reader to begin the journey towards starting up their own on-line business. Mr. Stonestreet writes with a clear and fluid style which makes his book not only informative (as one would expect) but also a “Good” read in its own right. Not a bad combination. I would highly recommend this book not only to the person wanting to start up a web based business but also to the more casual reader who may simply want to gain some insight into the mysteries of web based commerce. -B. Davidson, SCORE Denver

The Web Start-up Roadmap takes you from the shackles of feeling overwhelmed about starting your web-based business to the confidence of having clear and concise tasks that are organized meaningfully across Planning, Start-up, Building, Marketing and Exit phases of a business. This book reminds us that we can start a web-based business and be successful if we quit worrying about what can go wrong and instead focus on the very concrete things we can do to make it go right! The author of this book, JP Stonestreet, presents the information in a way that is easy to understand and actionable. The various checklists and key information points alert you to the essence of what you have to (and can) accomplish to make your business successful. Having attended the SCORE workshop that JP conducts, as well as participating in his peer business start-up groups, I can see that this is someone dedicated to the success of the entrepreneurial way of life. As he has lived the very experiences he writes about, his approach is practical because it is filled with both what you should do and what you should not do (e.g., Black Hat SEO). Don’t be afraid of failing, be afraid of not trying. Get the book, read it through, then go back and work through chapter-by-chapter. You’ll end up with your very own web-based business! -T. Gothard, Toemik International

I took JP’s all day class and learned so much I was in OVERLOAD. The book is just a very hand reference guide and reinforcement for his excellent class. Just full of GOODIES. I’m a total newbie to this and he is never condescending, explains in easy to understand terms. Highly recommend the book and his class if you are in the Denver area. -D. Hefner

Get Your Copy Now!

Amazon is more than happy to sell you a copy of my book. The print version is usually on sale, and the Kindle version is only $9.99. You can’t beat that!

 

Best wishes!

JP Stonestreet